Palmer Township residents get new automated carts for trash, recyclables

View full sizeNew trash cans (the recycling container has the yellow lid) sit on the front porch of Lynette Leendertz's Palmer Township home this week. "Look at them," she said. "They are the size of the state of New Jersey." Express-Times Photo | SUE BEYER

All 7,200 township homes are expected to receive two 96-gallon carts for trash and recyclables by Friday, said John Hambrose, community relations coordinator for Waste Management.

"Things are on schedule," he said.

Trash collectors will be able to pick up and dump the carts placed at curbside without ever leaving the truck.

Not everyone welcomes the carts.

Some residents
said they were concerned with how elderly neighbors would move the
massive cans. Lynette Leendertz received hers on Monday morning.

"Look
at them. They are the size of the state of New Jersey," she said as she
tried to figure out where she was going to put them.

Leendertz moved the old recycling can away from where she kept them, but the new
cans don’t fit in the same place without blocking her garage

View full sizeA crew puts the wheels on the new trash and recycle cans earlier this week as they deliver them to the households in Palmer Township. Express-Times Photo | SUE BEYER

Phone
calls have been "tremendously heavy" but 95 percent of them are residents seeking information, said Cindy Oatis, Palmer's recycling coordinator.
She said she mostly fielded "how to" questions and helped residents via
phone or referred them to the Internet, but an FAQ booklet will soon
be sent through direct mail.

"It has everything in it," Oatis said.

Some residents were even seen smiling and waving as the carts
were being delivered.

Officials gave an update on its new garbage collection system at a Monday night meeting.

Residents now pay an annual fee of $280 for garbage collection. It was previously $309. The township has three, one-year options after the first five years of the contract. The switch is a single-stream recycling method, so residents do not have to sort recyclables.

Supervisors Chairman David Colver said Monday night that the new carts are "much more aesthetically pleasing." He couldn't imagine being in a municipality that has several different trash collection companies.

"The streets look better," he said.

The township will also have to modify an ordinance that restricts the placement of carts to accommodate the new trash cans.

Residents can place old trash cans curbside with a note saying "please recycle," Oatis said. Those should be picked up within the next week or two, she said.

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QUESTIONS?

If you have questions about your new collection day or a problem with a missed pickup, contact either Waste Management Customer Service at 800-621-2100 or the township office at 610-253-7191.

When calling Waste Management, make sure to identify yourself as a Palmer Township resident and not an Easton resident.